1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shock absorber apparatus, and more particularly, to a shock absorber apparatus that prevents foreign matter from being accumulated on the shock absorber.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, when a vehicle travels along a road, the vehicle shakes vertically due to the condition of the road or vibrations of the vehicle, so a shock absorber is included as part of the suspension system in order to ensure stable steering stability of a vehicle, as well as the comfort of a driver and passenger, with respect to external vibrations.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional shock absorber which is coupled with a spring 40 so as to absorb shocks/impacts by applying reverse resistance against vertical vibrations of a vehicle. Here, when the shock absorber moves up and down, foreign matter such as dust, dirt, sand, etc. is introduced and accumulated into a lower pad 53, and repetitive vertical motions may damage the surface of the spring 40 and thus cause the spring to be broken.
It has been proposed to address the above-described problem with an oil-leak preventing device for a shock absorber assembly of a vehicle. In the device, a lift guide member is fixed onto a lower seat, and a reciprocating member is provided in order to connect the lift guide member and a piston, and an air jet member which communicates with the lift guide member and jets air along with a vertical motion of the reciprocating member is provided so as to discharge foreign matter from the shock absorber. Unfortunately, this conventional device has a significant problem in that the reciprocating member, the lift guide member, and the air jet member are separately mounted, rendering the structure to be complicated and causing a risk of breakage of individual components due to severe vibrations.
Thus, there is a need to provide a device for effectively removing foreign matter, which has a simple structure and does not use separate power, thus having no effect on fuel efficiency.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the description provided above is merely for aiding in understanding the background of the present invention, and should not be construed as admitted prior art.